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All Entries from the Genova Category

The Day the Pirates Parked in the Harbour, GenovaAugust 10, 2010

Yes, so the procrastination continues ... another photograph.  This time of the pirate ship I found parked, kind of casually, in Genova’s harbour.  I guess they were hoping to blend in and mingle with the cruise ship people down on the harbour’s edge.

Checklist so far includes, breakfasts made, dishes washed, laundry on.
Second shift breakfast for Miss 6.
Third shift cup of tea toa sickly Ms 23.
Phone call from London. 
Phone back to…

Giuseppe Garibaldi, by Italian sculptor Augusto Rivalta.August 10, 2010

I thought about doing a Craigslist advert for a hero on this next one but stuck to the facts in the end ...

Still having fun playing with the Polaroid Generator action.  I believe this is because I have much to do in the next few hours.  Hmmm, perhaps I shall re-christen mine the Polaroid Procrastinator.

In Need of a Window to Lean On the Sill of ...July 30, 2010

The new website is almost done ...so today I’m taking the day off to wander in Antwerpen with the Belgian bloke, who has a day off.

Cameras packed, a terras stop planned - the one with great olives and nice wine.
Yes, a day off ... could be nice.

Once Upon a Time, In Genova ...July 21, 2010

A memory from my last time in Genova alone ...

There is something truly delicious about lying in bed here in Genova, listening as the street comes alive ... the first footsteps, the quiet voices, followed by louder voices as people roll up the doors of their businesses, and the clank of the coffee cups on saucers begins soon after.

I doze a while longer then wake again, this time to the laughter of men…

Bubbles and The Magic Flute ...July 14, 2010

I really enjoyed trying to capture these giant bubbles in all of their splendour but was surprised with the results.  I applied nothing more than a simple increase in saturation and a little brightening.  The starbursts were already there in the bubble ...and to be honest, I’m not really a starburst kind of woman.

Maybe that’s Genova.  Even the bubbles are bit special.

As for The Magic Flute part of the title ... it’s an opera I was recently introduced…

a curve in the path ...July 13, 2010

In Genova, Italy, there is always another curve in the road to fall in love with ... to explore.

Life Goes on in Genova ...July 12, 2010

I was sitting here, in the quiet that is close to midnight, and lit a beeswax candle ... summoning up happy memories from childhood.

And I was working as the smoke curled around me, working on photographs from Genova and realising, again, that life goes on without me in all those places I’ve lived in or loved.

Here’s a scene that delighted me in Piazza De Ferrari one night ... I took a series of shots as this man worked…

GENOVA - in reflectionJuly 07, 2010

The other day I realised I might not be quite like the average mortal, and that my behaviour ... my way of seeing the world, might even border on a little odd ... but I love what I find in reflection, and have done since I was a kid, being driven along State Highway One in the South Island of New Zealand ... south, past Henley, where the marshes often reflected the world back at me upside-down and perfect. 

…

Special People, GenovaJune 17, 2010

For me, Genova is not just a place full of beautiful buildings, situated on a coast that reminds me of home.  It has its share of people I really enjoy seeing and admire too.

Our lovely friend, Stefano, was out town when we arrived but Gert and I spent those days wandering with the cameras, usually 10kms+ each day, and catching up with other friends.

We were lucky enough to have…

A place of quiet beauty, GenovaJune 17, 2010

Can you tell how much I love these places of worship?

It was the same in Istanbul, when I discovered the peaceful beauty of the mosque. 

The Boy who sells Roses, GenovaJune 04, 2010

The flower boy passed through Porta Soprana, the ancient gate leading into the old part of the city of Genova, while I was there ... trying to capture something of this opening in a city wall, built back in the 12th century.

There’s something about this one that I like ...

a holy place, genovaJune 04, 2010

A lovely old man saw me taking this photograph and took me to another shop window, and then on, round the corner, saying I must see inside this church pictured below.

I think we did all of this in Italiano, which I really don’t speak but sometimes, or oftentimes, you just ‘get’ what people are trying to tell you because your passion and curiousity meets them halfway.

Grazie to the Genovese man whose name I don’t know,…

Missing Genova ...June 04, 2010

The oddest thing ... I begin missing Genova as I pass through that halfway-thru-my-stay mark.

I notice suitcases rolling along the alleyway below Paola’s apartment, and I know it’s silly to think of them even while I still have the other half of the holiday left ... but I notice them anyway.

I think I’ve lived one of those lives where I am always searching for someplace else ... someplace perfect.  And sometimes I’ve come so close to finding it…

The Way Home ... when in Genova, ItalyMay 30, 2010

I love this gate called Porta Soprana.  It was built in the 12th century, with the help of the citizens of Genova, as the government of the time attempted to defend the independence of the city from Emperor Barbarossa.

However, Barbarossa apparently knew that he needed the people of Genova, with their rapidly developing economic and maritime strength, and he never attacked.  There was an oath of allegience and some levies ... 

And there I was, a 21st century…

The Bike on the Stairs, GenovaMay 30, 2010

I love the challenges posed by this bike up an alleyway off Via Cairoli or Garibaldi ... I was rapt to find it parked there, a year after I first photographed it.

Different light, a different camera, time spent learning some more of my craft, all combined to give me this shot.
I’m pleased with it.

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, ItalyMay 28, 2010

I want to write of the remarkable people we’ve spent time with these last two days but we’re preparing to leave, exhausted after a day scaling hills in the hot Italian sun ... only slightly revived after an exquisite dinner in the company of some lovely people.  I want to write the story of meeting these people but when I’m home and settled again and so, instead, I will leave you with some photographs taken today in Cinque Terre.

…

Via dell’ Amore, Cinque Terre, ItalyMay 28, 2010

You can imagine my delight over finding this graffiti lining the walls of Via dell’ Amore, high above the sea as we set out, walking between the five villages. More to follow, as two sections were blocked ...

The Remains of the Cloister of Sant’AndreaMay 27, 2010

Another attempt at capturing these Romanesque ruins next to Porta Soprana.  This time, I used a tripod and spent some time in an attempt to capture the full beauty of them.

These ruins are all that remain of Sant’Andrea church, demolished at the end of the 1800’s when space was needed to construct Via Dante.  Most important for me, as that’s where I catch bus 42 out to Boccadasse.

The Schiacciapatate VictoryMay 27, 2010

When I was staying with the lovely Tonya and Jack in Naples, I was introduced to the fine art of making gnocchi however ... I have never made it, due to lacking a ‘potato smooosher’.

Tonya had used this highly technical description in the recipe.

Yesterday, wandering slightly lost (the best way to wander), in the alleyways of Genova, I happened upon a kitchen supplies shop.  Not willing to use Tonya’s highly…

Store Window, GenovaMay 26, 2010

I think it goes without saying but this window dressing amused me ... so much so, that I had to go back and photograph it.

Yes ... I would love to believe that ‘stupid has all the interesting questions’.

Palazzo San Giorgio, GenovaMay 26, 2010

Palazzo San Giorgio was built in 1260, by order of the Capitano del Popolo Guglielmo Boccanegra, for the Commune.  In 1570 it was extended and this frescoed facade, showing Saint George and his dragon, was added. Later, in the 15th century, the palace became the headquarters of the first European bank, Banco di San Giorgio.

Marco Polo was actually imprisoned inside when it was the Customs House, and it was there, or so it is told, that he dictated his…

Night Shoot, GenovaMay 26, 2010

We wandered out to Isola delle chiatte to see what the sun would do to Genova’s lighthouse and ended the evening using the tripod in Piazza De Ferrari, photographing the fountain we love so well.

A sunset stroll turned into 2.5 hours of wandering and photography.
A lovely way to end a day, writes this very happy kiwi from Italy.

Rear-View, GenovaMay 26, 2010

3 days left here and I’m already sad. 

Each day, at least one suitcase rolls along the cobblestones here, reminding me that I have to leave too. So now for the last minute photographs we didn’t get yet ... but wait, there is a train that does Cinque Terre.  Hmmm, perhaps that heavenly section of coast is Friday.

Anyway, the scooter mirror here ... they are everywhere, I’ll miss them too.

Reminiscing the Future ...May 25, 2010

I love the way we can bring the past alive in our present ... recalling the people we loved and lived with, the way that they made us feel.  I find everyone is still there, as solid memories, if I manage to call them up.

7am here in Italy, a cup of coffee from my small traveling espresso coffee-pot and a packet of shortbread-like biscuits nearby ...voila, memories of Nana and pre-breakfast coffees back home at her place, in Invercargill,…

Peter Gage Furlong, Tenor (and lovely bloke)May 25, 2010

I wrote of having ’ exciting news’ over here and then became caught up in living the news ... I’m sorry.  I didn’t actually explain afterwards.

We had had Kathleen come stay with us for a night the weekend before and that was delightful in itself.  Afterwards we had accepted her invitation to come photograph her audition in a place near Viareggio and it was there, that we…

Musical Instrument-Maker, Genova.May 24, 2010

I could have watched these guys work for hours ... well, photographed them for sure.

Artisans Village, GenovaMay 24, 2010

Yesterday, we experienced the pure delight of walking into a tent village of artisans, down at the port, here in Genova.

I took a series of photographs of the musical instrument-makers at work.  Their shop is located at S.S.Matteo 19/18b, I hope to discover a little more about these talented people.  It was beautiful to watch them at work but I was so delighted about the range of artisans present, that I didn’t focus with specific questions.
Details, GenovaMay 22, 2010

The thing about Genova is that you find small details like this as you stroll.

I love the whole discovery thing there.  If you walk with your eyes wide-open or closed, no matter ... you will find beautiful things every place.

Beautiful People, GenovaMay 22, 2010

I know some beautiful souls, and in that tradition, we had the pleasure of spending the last 24 hours in the company of these guys.

Down an Alleyway, GenovaMay 20, 2010

I spun the ISO setting for this photograph.  The light was almost over but this beckoned as I wandered home along Via XXV Aprile.  Laughing, imagining it an impossible fish to land ... well, I like it.

A favourite Stone Lion, San Lorenzo Cathedral, GenovaMay 20, 2010

I took this photograph as the sun left the city, around 8pm ... and up in the top left of the photograph, you can see the sunset light warming the cathedral.  It was exquisite.  I just wish I had a little crane that I could drive around the city and then ride high enough in to get the ideal shots I miss on the ground.

Crazily, light over, we made a mad dash through the complicated alleyways between Via San…

Genova, in ReflectionMay 20, 2010

Today was one of those days… everywhere I looked, there was a photograph.

We chased the evening light for a couple of hours tonight, exhausting ourselves after a day spent walking ... but it’s so good to be out in sunshine and warmth after the long winter of ice and snow.

Carrugi, GenovaMay 20, 2010

The photograph below was taken in one of the many carrugi, or narrow alleyways, that criss-cross the ancient heart of Genova city.

I love them.  You can be constantly lost, although we are getting there ... retracing our steps and exploring a new favourite area in the Maddalena district.

Life is lived up close and personal, so very unlike my New Zealand life in terms of living space and yet, in another way, it reminds me of how known we…

Shop Window, GenovaMay 20, 2010

I was attempting one of those secretive ‘drive-by’ photographs when I took this but a lovely Italian guy spotted my delight.

He led me off to a nearby shop, wanting to show me another beautiful window scene, and then round the corner, pointing to the most exquisite church and telling us we must go in.  The interior, with natural light streaming in, took my breath.  No time to edit those photographs yet.  We have spent almost the entire day walking. …

Perhaps this says it all of Genova ...May 19, 2010

I hoped this guy would forgive me for wanting to photograph him tonight but you can see why ...

He looked exactly as I felt as I turn 360 degrees here in Genova some days.

Genova ...May 19, 2010

I pass this regularly, walking up the stairs and through Porta Soprana here in Genova ...

I don’t take it so seriously, imagining it to be so beautiful that it can’t be real.  I promise to read of it tomorrow but tonight, I set my camera’s ISO to 6400 and took this ... surprising myself with the result.

Fountain, Piazza de Ferrari, GenovaMay 19, 2010

The fountain in Piazza de Ferrari hasn’t been running lately.  Perhaps it’s the wind that blows the spray all over everything but whatever the reason, it means i can hunt down photographs like this by walking in the empty outer pool of it.

I took this tonight, in the last of the evening light. 

Did I ever mention, I love my Canon EOS 5D Mk II?

Bubbles in Piazza De Ferrari, GenovaMay 17, 2010

I loved this shot of the giant bubble ...

Kathleen Berger, SopranoMay 17, 2010

Kathleen arrived on a train from Pisa yesterday ...

We introduced her to Genova and she, of course, fell in love with this exquisite Italian city.

Last night we had appertivo before eating the most fantastic pizza ... much wine and laughter.

Today it was Nervi before saying goodbye.  A lunch eaten on the edge of the Ligurian Sea ... pesto and gnocchi of course. 

And tomorrow?
Tomorrow we…

Francesco Sepe, MagicianMay 16, 2010

The extraordinary in the everyday, was how I titled this image ...

Imagine, you’re strolling across the beautiful Piazza de Ferrari here in Genova when you meet this exquisite bubble ... floating through the air as if normal.

I found the source, more to follow on the extraordinary Francesco Sepe and his bubbles.

Mr Squirrel and I ...May 16, 2010

How could anyone resist this little bundle of fur and sweetness.

He ate one of the nuts the lovely couple in the park had shared with me, and gazed down from the branch, just out of reach but wouldn’t you agree ... his little eyes are filled with gratitude and love?

You know, the bus to Nervi and the place of the squirrels departs from the steps close by.  We can use our book of 1.10euro bus tickets to ride…

My Camera Gets Up Close and Personal with an Aloe Vera LeafMay 16, 2010

I never realised the aloe vera blades were so exquisite ... or perhaps these are the superior Italian variety?

I feel like a puppy who has found a particularly perfect mud puddle to roll in.

A curious rock formation, NerviMay 16, 2010

There are so many things, here in Italy, that poke my curiousity something fierce ... this rock formation was surely one of them.

Is it volcanic?  And I liked the way the green and yellow plant kind of copies the chaos of the black and white rock spewing out of the hillside.

Here, I find I need both a geologist and a horticulturalist to walk with me.  There are plants I need to know the names of, and a pharmacist…

A Bend in the River, ItalyMay 15, 2010

When I wander, there’s this oftentimes unconscious thing going on ... the thing where I ‘recognise’ something of other places I have loved or lived in.

This bend in the river, in Nervi, reminded me of visiting my Grandma and Grandad in their little cottage in Northeast Valley, Dunedin, but it wasn’t about the house pictured, it was about the river and the wall. 

On spectacularly exciting visits, Grandad would pull out the long wooden ladder and drop it…

Streets of Something Like Gold ...May 15, 2010

Isn’t this beautiful?

It is just one of many covered walkways in downtown Genova.  This one is my favourite.  There is a bank guard with a semi-automatic machine gun stationed halfway along the street, and my idea is that he uses his gun to ‘punish’ the chewing-gum-spitters who have marked some of the other beautiful pavements in the city with their gum. 

On meeting a Squirrel at NerviMay 15, 2010

Gert and I wandered out to the exquisite coast walk at Nervi, near Genova and stopped in at the park ... I was looking for squirrels.

A lovely couple offered to share their nuts with me and voila, Mr Squirrel and I became friends.

More to follow, just posting a snippet from my day.

Clouds and Sunshine on a hill above the Ligurian SeaMay 14, 2010

I had this feeling that the clouds, the sea and the coastline might be interesting if we were to wander out to the look-out on the hill at Boccadasse this morning ... and they were.

I love sitting here. It took us longer than planned to reach it, as Gert is all but crippled by back pain and so, we’re moving more slowly than usual. 

Meanwhile he’s threatening to write a book full of things that I say.  Sometimes…

7am and Working.May 14, 2010

This morning, I was awake and working at 7am ...

Although I should admit that I enjoy working and to spend time working at this pretty little round table in Paola’s kitchen somehow makes the hours pass by in a sweeter way. 

Then again, I could be honest and tell you that it’s almost 8.30am and I feel like I have earned my onion focaccia breakfast and that the light is calling to me ...

Bulk of work…

Genova ...May 13, 2010

I feel things strongly ... powerfully even, and so life is about negotiating this feeling ‘too much’, or it has been.

Here in Italy, specifically Genova, perhaps it’s okay to feel everything as I do.

I mean look ... below is one of the streets here in the city.  This is a street laid with beautiful old stones and you just know that they hold million secrets.  They’re worn, they shine in the rain.  I looked down and like a…

The Lion of San Lorenzo Cathedral, GenovaMay 13, 2010

I love the lions outside San Lorenzo’s cathedral here in the city of Genova ...

The lions rest on either side of the wide entrance stairway, fierce and somehow welcoming.  So much so, that you often see children sitting on their broad backs. 

I went out for focaccia this morning and was distracted by the exquisite light after rain.  Gert smsed an hour later, wondering where his breakfast might be, and I managed to leave the lions and San…

Lovin GenovaMay 13, 2010

I know what it is that I love so much about this wandering life of mine ...

It’s about going out hunting in the early morning light and bringing back treasures like focaccia and photographs of beautiful places seen along the way. 

I do believe I’m a hunter/gathering kind of woman.

I Am Here ...May 12, 2010

Whimsy in Genova ...May 12, 2010

Today was one of those days where we set about finding our place here in this new world.

I called in to catch up with Lorenzo, at cibi e libri, my favourite vegetarian cafe here in the city of Genova.

We bought supplies from here and there, wandered, noted the times of boat trips along the Ligurian coast and then later, we kicked back and enjoyed the sun in Piazza De Ferrari.  It was there that…

Focaccia and the Internet ... my small cup of happiness runneth over in Genova.May 12, 2010

Now I am sure I have arrived in Genova…

I began my day with some of the best onion focaccia in the world, bought from Panificio Patrone di Travaglini Mario e Luca at Via Ravecca 72.

Bliss!

But even more stunning ... Alessandro, at Acquarius Service, in Piazza Fossatello 2R showed us just how simple it is for the traveler to go online while wandering.  I’m light years behind…

Genova ...May 10, 2010

I am going through my photo files of Genova before flying tomorrow. 

For me, packing to leave also means loading external hard-drives and usb sticks ... organising all that I’ll need to work in Genova.

The quiet elegance of this Italian city is something I enjoy immensely.  These covered footpaths, next to roads with everyday buses and cars passing by ... the smooth stone beneath my feet, the arch above my head ... they’re exquisite.  And then there’s the…

Turtles Hanging-Out, Nervi, GenovaMay 08, 2010

These little guys left me bemused.  I discovered them as I wandered through the beautiful park at Nervi, along the coast from Genova city.  They were simply hanging out together ...

I wish someone would pay me to work for me.  There’s so much to do all the time, and along the way, I lose photographs.  Tonight, a quiet Saturday night here in the flatlands of Belgie, I’ve been working my way through photo files.  Istanbul is still there,…

Found while out Wandering one day ...May 08, 2010

I expect it will be the same in heaven ... wandering, camera in hand, finding images like this fishing net drying on a wall in some covered walkway next to the harbour.

Returning to Genvoa ...May 08, 2010

Next week, I will climb the small path at Boccadasse, the one that leads to this view out over the Ligurian Sea ... and restore my winter soul some.

I sat for a long time, watching the storm clouds gather, blocking then releasing the sunlight, not quite sure how to leave my seat there on the hill.
You can see why, can’t you.

Genova!!  a returnApril 25, 2010

My head is turning back towards Genova and my wee kiwi soul is so excited.  We fly soon ...

And we return to one of two places I love best in the world. 
There will be time to call in at the farinata shop ... the one the family have owned since 1812, location of what must be some of the best farinata in the city and a place you…

The Bicycle, GenovaJanuary 31, 2010

I think this image went up on the old blog ... and never quite made it here.

Remembering Genova ...December 28, 2009

An Extraordinarily Excellent DayOctober 24, 2009

Yesterday began in another rush, with me racing over to Brussels to interview the truly interesting and talented Jessica Hilltout, photographer and world wanderer.  The interview will take a few weeks to appear, as I’ll wait for her beautiful Africa photographs to go through the selection process for her upcoming book.
It’s worth waiting for, I promise.

Heading home, I stopped and had lunch at my favourite Brussels cafe - LÁtelier,…

Cooking Class, GenovaOctober 12, 2009

Bookshops (with English books) in Genova.September 25, 2009

The bookshop I love best in Genova is la Feltrinelli Librerie at Via XX Settembre 231R, close to Piazza de Ferrari.  The English section is upstairs and quite varied.  I bought more than a few books while I was there.

FNAC Genova is on the other side of Via XX Settembre, 46R and closer to Brignole Railway Station.  It has a good selection downstairs and upstairs we found small inexpensive speakers for my laptop.  Blank cds, cases and dvds for…

Charming GardenersSeptember 09, 2009

 

 

 


Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

Thanks to Christine Mason Miller for this beautiful quote and to the charming gardeners I know.

Missing Genova ...August 09, 2009

A street scene- Via San Lorenzo, Genova

Marianne Williamson, Our Deepest FearAugust 09, 2009

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that…

Portofino Pathway, ItalyAugust 02, 2009

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Galleria Imperiale, Antique Store, GenovaAugust 02, 2009

Galleria Imperiale is well worth a visit, both to view the antiques on display and to wander through the beautiful building in which they are housed. 

I used my Canon EOS 5D series II and the Canon EF 17-40mm 1:4L, without flash for this shot.

You can visit Galleria Imperiale at Campetto 8,  in the ancient heart of the city of Genova.
image

Cafe’ Il Barbarossa, GenovaAugust 02, 2009

Cafe’ Il Barbarossa is well-placed here in the ancient part of the city of Genova.  It sits on top of the hill in Piano di San Andrea, 21-23R, next to Porta Soprana, with outdoor tables that attract all ages but most especially the younger crowd.

Opened in 1995, it acknowledges the ancient gate standing next to it in its name – built in 1155, Porta Soprana was the gate that guarded Genova from Barbarossa the Conqueror. 

The cafe is…

Evening Light from my (borrowed) Kitchen Window, GenovaAugust 02, 2009

At some point, I fell in love with the idea of capturing light.  Perhaps it was the new camera, the Canon EOS 5D series II - a camera that has changed my life as a photographer.  Suddenly all those lessons made sense and the camera became more of an extension of myself, as opposed to being a technical beast that had buttons I was a little in awe of ...

The light in Italy…

Pizzeria Ravecca, GenovaAugust 02, 2009

I ate more pizza than I should have in Genova but eating becomes very much something I can’t be bothered doing when I’m out wandering ... cooking is even less likely to happen and so the pizzeria across the alley became a second home, specially while Pippa was staying. 

One night, I popped into the kitchen and took a series of photographs at Pizzeria Ravecca.
I liked this one.

Pizzeria Ravecca da Pino, Via Ravecca, 23r - 16128…

Traveling Home ... the longest way.July 30, 2009

imageI just woke on the couch this afternoon, a crumpled jet-lagged creature who was only actually in the air for an hour and five minutes of the 12-hour traveling day yesterday.

I left the apartment in Genova at midday, then train timetables meant I ended up killing time in Brignole Station for an hour and a half.  2 hours to Milan on the train, then 45 minutes on the bus from Milan railway…

Genova via Webcams.July 30, 2009

I can no longer remember how I discovered Stefano’s Genova webcam but I remember my delight and the regular ‘visits’ I made to Genova via his webcams throughout the long grey Belgian winter.

We exchanged email periodically after my initial approach asking permission to link to his site on my womanwandering blog.  Spring came eventually and I had made plans to return to Genova.

Stefano offered to meet with me, telling me to ask if…

Cibi e libri – a Genova la gastronomia vegetarianaJuly 28, 2009

imageA vegetarian cafe, a small library and free-wifi spot, a place where friends meet to talk, eat and take vegetarian cooking classes – Cibi e libri fulfils a number of roles, more than you might imagine when you first pass by the small cafe on via Ravecca, 48R in Genova.

It’s more than a cafe, I noticed this thing about it in the hours I spent there – friends called by,…

Blog from Italy and DiMackey.com in Pavia.July 28, 2009

One of the things about wandering with fellow bloggers is that they write of it, publish photographs ... things like that.

Actually, I was lucky as Alex didn’t publish half of what he was threatening to publish - not that anything was terribly wicked, I just might have dissed Belgium a little bit. 

Anyway, I mentioned Pavia previously but you can read about my time in Pavia with Alex over on his…

Bar BoomerangJuly 28, 2009

One of my favourite places, here in the city of Genova, is Bar Boomerang. 

imageInitially it was the name that I noticed.  Then the fantastic, never-tasted-better cappuccino drew me back again and again.  On this, my second visit to the city, I discovered that their aperitivo is the nicest aperitivo I’ve had so far.

The staff are friendly, clients are important to them and their passion for the work comes through in…

Pizzeria RaveccaJuly 28, 2009

imagePizzeria Ravecca is so much more than a generic pizza place ... it feels like it’s more about people knowing people, about a space to come a sit a while, sharing good food while you talk, enjoying the colourful decor and the excellent music – music loud enough to give you the privacy to talk about whatever you like.

There’s an impressively long list of pizzas on the board outside, and you can…

Onion Foccacia, GenovaJuly 27, 2009

Here in Genova, one of the best things about waking up is surely the onion foccacia bread ...

Flowers in the background and onion foccacia on the kitchen table I spend my days and nights working at ... life is good.
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Piazza delle Erbe, GenovaJuly 27, 2009

imagePasseXout internet cafe is one of the places I haunt while staying in Genova, is the internet cafe down in Piazza delle Erbe.  It opens at 10am Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays ... understandably closed, as they stay open until midnight or later.

The staff are friendly, they speak English and will sign you into their system as long as you can provide them with ID.  When I returned after almost 9 months…

Genova Righi webcamJuly 25, 2009

If curious, you can visit the Italian city of Genova via Genova Righi webcam up on a hill that offers a stunning overview of the city.

The first time I checked in this morning, the temperature was reading 31 celsius but as I write this, I see it’s a much calmer 26 now ... humidity 74%.
A quiet day today I think.

Vegetarian Cooking Class, GenvoaJuly 25, 2009

There is something truly delicious about attending an evening vegetarian cooking class here in the old section of the city of Genova ...

It’s about listening to the Italian language flow around me, enjoying the fact that I was there as a photographer and simply allowed to observed ... only surprised into laughter when the teacher informed me that I would receive free food if I asked in Italian.

I knew nothing vegetarian in the language and had to…

Scorpions, GenovaJuly 24, 2009

No one mentioned the scorpions in Genova ...

imageI met my first scorpion yesterday and watched horrified as a young man played with it, just a metre from my foot, trying to pick it up to throw it outside.

Seeing it induced a tsunami-like wave of homesickness and brought back memories of a Turkish friend’s archeologist husband delighting in telling me tales of his time working in a place where you…

Cafe Boomerang, GenovaJuly 23, 2009

imageThis is aperitivo,Cafe Boomerang-style.  You can find them on via di Porta Soprana, 41- 43, Genova.
Interview to follow tomorrow but this aperitivo ‘snack’ came with my glass of red wine, the best aperitivo I’ve experienced so far.

Beginning on the work I came here to do ...July 22, 2009

I have these days where I wake wondering who on earth I think I am and why I feel I have the right to wander and ask questions of strangers ...

imageInitially, waking this morning was gentle and delicious.  The first footsteps passed by my window, the voices quiet but later, after I opened the windows, I heard the cafe owner arrive and roll up her metal door while talking on the…

Up some stairs in an alleyway, GenovaJuly 20, 2009

imageSometimes it’s about turning your head, peering up stairways, finding a bicycle that somehow defines some kind of beauty and then waiting, quietly for the bike owner to disappear inside, only to struggle with the light ... then struggle again with the light when you process the photograph.

Mostly though, the evening light is about magic.

A Simple ThingJuly 20, 2009

And sometimes it is simply about people doing something very ordinary in an exquisite light on an ancient street next to a building that has the last of the day’s sun warming and smoothing its surface ...image

 

 

New Genova photographs in the GalleryJuly 17, 2009

imageI hope you can bear with me as I work through both the learning curve and the kinks on the new website. 
Mostly it’s me now ...

Sometimes it is the site, sometimes it is me not adjusting to the size photographs need to be ... for example.  If you run into problems, please don’t hesitate to email me at mackey(dot)di(at)gmail(dot)com and let me know what is not working for you.

…

A way to arrive in Genova ...July 16, 2009

I think I arrive once there are flowers on the kitchen table ...

Here in Genova there is always someplace to buy flowers and Paola’s round dining table invites flowers, even if I still haven’t quite organised a vase. Today one of my water bottles has been sawn-off to play hostess to flowers bought at a market on Piazza Scio where we also discovered a large market and the sweetest smallest tomatoes.

These last few days have been days of…

Pippa and I, Boccadasse, ItalyJuly 14, 2009

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GenovaJuly 10, 2009

It was a 1 hour and 15 minute flight to Milan ... perhaps 60euro.

Pippa, an old friend from New Zealand, not seen in 5 years, was there waiting for me in the arrivals hall in Milano.  It was so good to see this woman who knew me before I went wandering in a serious other-side-of-the-world way.  We negotiated the bus to Central Station in Milano, then the 2 hour train to Genova and voila, I was back in this…

From a Hill in BoccadasseJuly 07, 2009

There was something that bit me in the soul about Genova.  Perhaps it was as simple as living next to the sea again ...

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Genova, Bach and IJuly 04, 2009

These last few days, I’ve been trying to capture the Genova I fell in love with while staying in Italy last year ...

There was a paragraph where I tried to describe the quietly sublime beauty of a Sunday morning spent alone in that city I love.

I wrote: Sunday, my first day alone and the city is emptied for football.  Slipping and tripping through the air comes the sound of the most exquisite violin ... drifting from…

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